This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of the art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention. The following discussion is intended to provide information to facilitate a better understanding of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that statements in the following discussion are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Some individuals require the need of twenty-four hour a day monitoring for safety purposes. One way to provide this monitoring is with the presence of an aide or companion. However, the presence of an aide or companion twenty-four hours a day is not always available or desired. Automated monitoring systems that currently exist rely on visual images. For many individuals, the use of visual images is an unacceptable intrusion into their privacy. Other monitoring systems that do not use visual images are very simplistic in that they may monitor the individual to determine if the individual has fallen down, but provide little additional information regarding the activity of individual.